This should give rise to some interesting debate. The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Runaway Song has had his rating raised from 92 to 116 following his success in the Gr3 Track & Ball Derby over 2400m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday.
Here it was runner-up Aragosta who was used as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 114.
Big bump – Runaway Song has been pushed up after his smart win on Saturday (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The Handicappers noted that Runaway Song was racing beyond 1600m for the first time, and therefore could see no reason not to take the big improvement shown at face value and thus seeing no justification in not rating Runaway Song higher than Aragosta.
There was also a rating’s increase for With Pleasure, who was lowest rated in this 6-horse contest but finished in 3rd place only 3 lengths behind the 114 rated Aragosta at level weights.
With Pleasure achieved a race rating of 110 which is a considerable step up in performance when looking at his overall profile. Accordingly, the Handicappers opted not to take the 110 achieved rating literally and increased his rating to 105.
The only drop out of the Derby was for Airways Law, who is down slightly from 110 to 109.
Gr2 Track And Ball Oaks
None Other remains unchanged on a rating of 110 after winning the Gr2 Track & Ball Oaks for fillies and mares over 2400m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday 17 June.
The Handicappers were of the opinion that None Other herself made for the most suitable line horse when assessing this race, hence her unaltered rating.
There were ratings’ increases for 2nd placed Dawnofanewday who goes up from 101 to 107, and for 5th finisher Rockie Reef, who is up from 80 to 92.
Rockie Reef actually ran to a mark of 103, but the Handicappers were unwilling to take this literally and gave her half of the achieved adjustment, hence her new rating of 92. The only other raise was for 6th placed Electric Surge , who is up from 77 to 83 to at least make her the equal of the 83-rated 7th finisher Capetown Beauty.
The only drop was for 3rd placed Light Of The Moon, who is down from 110 to 107 to ensure that she is not higher than runner-up Dawnofanewday.
- Media release by NHA on Tuesday 20 June 2023 – additional reporting by SP editorial staff.
